Northern Taste
Encyclopedia
Northern Taste was a Canadian-bred
Thoroughbred
racehorse
who raced in France
and who became a legendary sire
in Japan
. http://www.bloodhorse.com/viewstory.asp?id=25789
Bred by E. P. Taylor
at his Windfields Farm
in Oshawa, Ontario
, Northern Taste was out of the mare Lady Victoria, a daughter of Canadian Hall of Fame
inductee, Victoria Park
. His sire was the Canadian and U.S. Racing Hall of Fame
star, Northern Dancer
, whom the NTRA
calls "one of the most influential sires in Thoroughbred history."
Northern Taste was part of Windfields Farm's 1972 consignment of yearlings at the annual Saratoga
yearling sale. He was purchased for US$100,000 by Teruya Yoshida for his father Zenya Yoshida, a Japanese racehorse owner/breeder who operated Shadai Farm
in Shiraoi, Hokkaido
. His new owner decided to race the colt in France and turned him over to trainer John Cunnington, Jr. at the Great Stables
in Chantilly
.
at Saint-Cloud Racecourse and the Prix Eclipse
at Maisons-Laffitte Racecourse where the following April 1974 he would return to win the Prix Djebel
. Sent to compete in the 1974 English Classics, Northern Taste finished fourth in the 2,000 Guineas and fifth in the Epsom Derby
. Back in France, he ran third in the Prix Eugène Adam
and in September finished second in the Group I Prix du Moulin de Longchamp
at Longchamp Racecourse before winning the G1 Prix de la Forêt
in October. He returned to the track in 1975 at age four, winning the Group III Prix du Pin
in the Fall at Longchamp.
at his owner's breeding farm. His owner described him as a calm and healthy horse who rarely caught a cold
or suffered from any of the intestinal problems common to Thoroughbreds.
Northern Taste became the most important stallion
in the history of Japanese horse breeding
. His success as a stallion made the Yoshida family breeding business into the largest and most successful in the history of Japan with the largest number of broodmares of any breeder in the world. Northern Taste set a record for having sired the most race winners in Japan Racing Association
history with 1,754 and he would substantially influence the quality of the Japanese industry's bloodstock. He was the Leading sire in Japan
for ten of the eleven years between 1982 and 1992 and as well headed the broodmare sires list a number of times. His offspring proved successful at both medium and longer distances and were winners of 92 graded stakes races. Among his progeny were Amber Shadai, winner of the 1983 Autumn Tenno Sho
, Dyna Carle who won the 1983 Yushun Himba
(Japanese Oaks), 1986 Tokyo Yushun
champion, Dyna Gulliver, plus Champion Older Mare Dyna Actress and the 1990 Champion 2-year-old filly of Japan, Northern Driver.
Northern Taste was retired from stud duty in 1999 and died at the age of 33 on December 11, 2004. His owners acquired Kentucky Derby
, Preakness Stakes
, and Breeders' Cup Classic
winner Sunday Silence
to carry on for Northern Taste and he too topped Japan's sire list from 1995 through 2005. In 1980 Zenya Yoshida purchased Real Shadai
who became the leading sire in Japan in 1993. In the 1990s the Yoshida family also purchased the Italian
star and Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe
winner Tony Bin
for US$4 million and Epsom Derby
winner, Dr. Devious for US$6 million. In September 2002 they paid US$17.7 million for the stallion, War Emblem
. Teruya Yoshida told a jouralist that the success of Northern Taste "bought all the stallions we have."
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
Thoroughbred
Thoroughbred
The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word thoroughbred is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed...
racehorse
Horse racing
Horse racing is an equestrian sport that has a long history. Archaeological records indicate that horse racing occurred in ancient Babylon, Syria, and Egypt. Both chariot and mounted horse racing were events in the ancient Greek Olympics by 648 BC...
who raced in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
and who became a legendary sire
Sire
Sire may refer to:* Father, the counterpart of a dam, particularly in animal breeding. See also stallion* James W. Sire, author on worldviews* Sire Records, a record label* Sire Advertising, an advertising agency...
in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
. http://www.bloodhorse.com/viewstory.asp?id=25789
Bred by E. P. Taylor
E. P. Taylor
Edward Plunket Taylor was a Canadian business tycoon and famous breeder of thoroughbred race horses. Known to his friends as "Eddie", he is universally recorded as "E. P...
at his Windfields Farm
Windfields Farm
Windfields Farm is a six square kilometre thoroughbred horse breeding farm founded by businessman E. P. Taylor in Oshawa, Ontario, Canada. The first stable and breeding operation of E. P. Taylor originated with a property near the city of Toronto known as Parkwood Stable when it was owned by...
in Oshawa, Ontario
Oshawa, Ontario
Oshawa is a city in Ontario, Canada, on the Lake Ontario shoreline. It lies in Southern Ontario approximately 60 kilometres east of downtown Toronto. It is commonly viewed as the eastern anchor of both the Greater Toronto Area and the Golden Horseshoe. It is now commonly referred to as the most...
, Northern Taste was out of the mare Lady Victoria, a daughter of Canadian Hall of Fame
Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame
The Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame was established in 1976 at the Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, Ontario to honor those who have made a significant contribution to the sport of harness and thoroughbred horse racing in Canada....
inductee, Victoria Park
Victoria Park (horse)
Victoria Park was a Canadian Thoroughbred racehorse. A grandson of American Triple Crown champion Gallant Fox, he was the first Canadian-bred horse to place in an American Triple Crown race...
. His sire was the Canadian and U.S. Racing Hall of Fame
National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame
The National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame was founded in 1950 in Saratoga Springs, New York, to honor the achievements of American thoroughbred race horses, jockeys, and trainers...
star, Northern Dancer
Northern Dancer
Northern Dancer was a Canadian-bred Thoroughbred racehorse and the most successful sire of the 20th Century. The National Thoroughbred Racing Association calls him "one of the most influential sires in Thoroughbred history"....
, whom the NTRA
National Thoroughbred Racing Association
The National Thoroughbred Racing Association is a broad-based coalition of horse racing interests consisting of leading thoroughbred racetracks, owners, breeders, trainers and affiliated horse racing associations, charged with increasing the popularity of horse racing and improving economic...
calls "one of the most influential sires in Thoroughbred history."
Northern Taste was part of Windfields Farm's 1972 consignment of yearlings at the annual Saratoga
Saratoga Race Course
Saratoga Race Course is a Thoroughbred horse racing track in Saratoga Springs, New York, United States. It opened on August 3, 1863, and is the oldest organized sporting venue of any kind in the United States. It is typically open for racing from late July through early September.-History:John...
yearling sale. He was purchased for US$100,000 by Teruya Yoshida for his father Zenya Yoshida, a Japanese racehorse owner/breeder who operated Shadai Farm
Shadai Stallion Station
is a thoroughbred breeding facility located in Abira on the island of Hokkaido in Japan. The farm was begun in the late 1970s, early 1980s by the late Zenya Yoshida and is now run jointly by his sons , known collectively as the Shadai Group. As of 2006, the brothers own 3,000 horses worldwide...
in Shiraoi, Hokkaido
Shiraoi, Hokkaido
is a town located in Shiraoi District, Iburi, Hokkaidō, Japan. As of 31 May 2008, the town had a population of 20,371 The town was established in 1867 by the feudal lords of Sendai. Most of the area of the town is forested and parts lie within the Shikotsu-Tōya National Park.-History:Shiraoi like...
. His new owner decided to race the colt in France and turned him over to trainer John Cunnington, Jr. at the Great Stables
Living Museum of the Horse
The Living Museum of the Horse is a museum in Chantilly, France dedicated to equine art and culture. It is housed in the Great Stables of the Château de Chantilly, about 40 km north of Paris.-History:...
in Chantilly
Chantilly, Oise
Chantilly is a small city in northern France. It is designated municipally as a commune in the department of Oise.It is in the metropolitan area of Paris 38.4 km...
.
At the track
Racing at age two, Northern Taste won the Prix Thomas BryonPrix Thomas Bryon
The Prix Thomas Bryon is a Group 3 flat horse race in France which is open to two-year-old thoroughbreds. It is run at Saint-Cloud over a distance of 1,600 metres , and it is scheduled to take place each year in October.-History:...
at Saint-Cloud Racecourse and the Prix Eclipse
Prix Eclipse
The Prix Eclipse is a Group 3 flat horse race in France which is open to two-year-old thoroughbreds. It is run at Chantilly over a distance of 1,200 metres , and it is scheduled to take place each year in October.-History:...
at Maisons-Laffitte Racecourse where the following April 1974 he would return to win the Prix Djebel
Prix Djebel
The Prix Djebel is a Group 3 flat horse race in France which is open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and geldings. It is run at Maisons-Laffitte over a distance of 1,400 metres , and it is scheduled to take place each year in April....
. Sent to compete in the 1974 English Classics, Northern Taste finished fourth in the 2,000 Guineas and fifth in the Epsom Derby
Epsom Derby
The Derby Stakes, popularly known as The Derby, internationally as the Epsom Derby, and under its present sponsor as the Investec Derby, is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies...
. Back in France, he ran third in the Prix Eugène Adam
Prix Eugène Adam
The Prix Eugène Adam is a Group 2 flat horse race in France open to three-year-old thoroughbreds. It is run at Maisons-Laffitte over a distance of 2,000 metres , and it is scheduled to take place each year in July.-History:...
and in September finished second in the Group I Prix du Moulin de Longchamp
Prix du Moulin de Longchamp
The Prix du Moulin de Longchamp is a Group 1 flat horse race in France which is open to thoroughbred colts and fillies aged three years or older...
at Longchamp Racecourse before winning the G1 Prix de la Forêt
Prix de la Forêt
The Prix de la Forêt is a Group 1 flat horse race in France which is open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at Longchamp over a distance of 1,400 metres , and it is scheduled to take place each year in late September or early October.-History:The race was established in 1858,...
in October. He returned to the track in 1975 at age four, winning the Group III Prix du Pin
Prix du Pin
The Prix du Pin is a Group 3 flat horse race in France which is open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at Longchamp over a distance of 1,400 metres , and it is scheduled to take place each year in September.-History:...
in the Fall at Longchamp.
As a sire
Retired from racing, Northern Taste was brought to Japan to stand at studHorse breeding
Horse breeding is reproduction in horses, and particularly the human-directed process of selective breeding of animals, particularly purebred horses of a given breed. Planned matings can be used to produce specifically desired characteristics in domesticated horses...
at his owner's breeding farm. His owner described him as a calm and healthy horse who rarely caught a cold
Common cold
The common cold is a viral infectious disease of the upper respiratory system, caused primarily by rhinoviruses and coronaviruses. Common symptoms include a cough, sore throat, runny nose, and fever...
or suffered from any of the intestinal problems common to Thoroughbreds.
Northern Taste became the most important stallion
Stallion (horse)
A stallion is a male horse that has not been gelded .Stallions will follow the conformation and phenotype of their breed, but within that standard, the presence of hormones such as testosterone may give stallions a thicker, "cresty" neck, as well as a somewhat more muscular physique as compared to...
in the history of Japanese horse breeding
Horse breeding
Horse breeding is reproduction in horses, and particularly the human-directed process of selective breeding of animals, particularly purebred horses of a given breed. Planned matings can be used to produce specifically desired characteristics in domesticated horses...
. His success as a stallion made the Yoshida family breeding business into the largest and most successful in the history of Japan with the largest number of broodmares of any breeder in the world. Northern Taste set a record for having sired the most race winners in Japan Racing Association
Japan Racing Association
The Japan Racing Association is a public company established to operate Chūō Keiba and to manage racecourses, betting facilities, and horse-training facilities....
history with 1,754 and he would substantially influence the quality of the Japanese industry's bloodstock. He was the Leading sire in Japan
Leading sire in Japan
The list below shows the leading Thoroughbred sire of racehorses in Japan for each year since 1924. This is determined by the amount of prizemoney won by the sire's progeny during the season.-----References:* -See also:* Leading sire in Australia...
for ten of the eleven years between 1982 and 1992 and as well headed the broodmare sires list a number of times. His offspring proved successful at both medium and longer distances and were winners of 92 graded stakes races. Among his progeny were Amber Shadai, winner of the 1983 Autumn Tenno Sho
Tenno Sho
The Tennō Shō is a horse race held twice a year in Japan, once in the spring and once in the autumn. "Tenno" means "Emperor of Japan". The races are both International Grade I races. Prior to the 2007 races, both Tenno Sho races were Japanese domestic Grade I races.-Spring:The Spring Tenno Sho...
, Dyna Carle who won the 1983 Yushun Himba
Yushun Himba
The , also known as the is a Japanese domestic Grade 1 flat horse race for three-year-old thoroughbred fillies run over a distance of 2,400 metres at the Tokyo Racecourse, Fuchū, Tokyo in May....
(Japanese Oaks), 1986 Tokyo Yushun
Tokyo Yushun
The , also called as the is a Grade 1 flat horse race in Japan for three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies run over a distance of 2,400 metres at the Tokyo Racecourse, Fuchū, Tokyo in late May or early June....
champion, Dyna Gulliver, plus Champion Older Mare Dyna Actress and the 1990 Champion 2-year-old filly of Japan, Northern Driver.
Northern Taste was retired from stud duty in 1999 and died at the age of 33 on December 11, 2004. His owners acquired Kentucky Derby
Kentucky Derby
The Kentucky Derby is a Grade I stakes race for three-year-old Thoroughbred horses, held annually in Louisville, Kentucky, United States on the first Saturday in May, capping the two-week-long Kentucky Derby Festival. The race is one and a quarter mile at Churchill Downs. Colts and geldings carry...
, Preakness Stakes
Preakness Stakes
The Preakness Stakes is an American flat Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds held on the third Saturday in May each year at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland. It is a Grade I race run over a distance of 9.5 furlongs on dirt. Colts and geldings carry 126 pounds ; fillies 121 lb...
, and Breeders' Cup Classic
Breeders' Cup Classic
The Breeders' Cup Classic is a Grade I Weight for Age thoroughbred horse race for 3 year olds and older run at a distance of 1¼ miles on dirt. It is held annually at a different racetrack as part of the Breeders' Cup World Championships...
winner Sunday Silence
Sunday Silence
Sunday Silence was an American Thoroughbred racehorse, earning distinction as 1989 American Horse of the Year over American Champion Two-Year-Old Male Horse Easy Goer. He was foaled in 1986, sired by Halo out of Wishing Well by Understanding. Though he was registered as a dark bay/brown, he was in...
to carry on for Northern Taste and he too topped Japan's sire list from 1995 through 2005. In 1980 Zenya Yoshida purchased Real Shadai
Real Shadai
Real Shadai was an American-born Thoroughbred racehorse who raced in France and became a leading sire in Japan. A descendant of Nearco, he was sired by Epsom Derby winner Roberto and out of the U.S...
who became the leading sire in Japan in 1993. In the 1990s the Yoshida family also purchased the Italian
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
star and Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe
Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe
The Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe is a Group 1 flat horse race in France which is open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at Longchamp over a distance of 2,400 metres , and it is scheduled to take place each year, usually on the first Sunday in October.Popularly referred to as the...
winner Tony Bin
Tony Bin
Tony Bin was an Irish-bred Thoroughbred racehorse who competed in Europe for his Italian owner from a base in Milan and who became a leading sire in Japan.-Background:...
for US$4 million and Epsom Derby
Epsom Derby
The Derby Stakes, popularly known as The Derby, internationally as the Epsom Derby, and under its present sponsor as the Investec Derby, is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies...
winner, Dr. Devious for US$6 million. In September 2002 they paid US$17.7 million for the stallion, War Emblem
War Emblem
War Emblem was the winner of the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes in 2002. His Derby time was 2:01.13. Victor Espinoza was his jockey for the Derby, never having seen the horse until the morning of the race. War Emblem, who went off at 21-to-1 odds, gave trainer Bob Baffert his third Derby...
. Teruya Yoshida told a jouralist that the success of Northern Taste "bought all the stallions we have."